The first question we asked was what the group thought would
suit the song, Performance, Narrative or a mix of both. The responses we got
from the group of 6 all said that a mix of narrative and performance would suit
our song best. This means that our audience would prefer a promo that has both
narrative and performance in it, so we will go for one that uses both. This
helped us decide because we were caught between pure performance and the mix of
both. This has helped us make the final decision on a mix of both performance
and narrative.
Our second question asked about if they liked our idea or
not, the idea we put forward was to create a narrative and performance based music video. It will involve
two characters, a male and female. The female will be the main part of the
performance along with band shots. The narrative shows the female character at
war with her inner self (the zombie). The male character shows the conflicting
relationship and how relationships can die out. It also shows a cheating
relationship.
The group
all wrote down that the idea was good and that they think it could work well,
this tells us that our target audience, which our group where made up of, enjoy
the idea and would like to see it done, this gave us confirmation on their likes
and dislikes within the music video, all the comments also said that they liked
the idea and none where negative and everyone liked it. All of the group said
it would be “interesting” and a one said it could “create meanings”, two people
also detailed how the lyrics would suit the theme and how people can change in
a relationship.
The third
question we asked was about mise-en-scene and what the group would think to be
effect. We got a verity of different responses such as a house, a restraint and
a public place. This gave us some interesting ideas of what we could do,
especially to fit the lyrics. For example, The first part of the song, which
talks about the singer being in regret and confusion, would be good to be shot
at a house, this would make a more personal feeling for the audience to relate
to the promo. The other ideas of a romantic place or a restaurant could also be
used within the promo as a flashback of the couple together, the audience also
said this would work so it may be a good idea to use.
We also
asked about lighting and costume as part of mise-en-scene in this question, All
of the focus group said that the costume should be “normal” clothes, such as
jeans and t-shirts, this also fits in with our target audience so that is the
idea we will use. They also said that the lighting should be darker but not
very dark. This would be a very good idea as the lighting could reflect
emotional pain and confusion if it is darker; this helps as we did not
particularly think of lighting. The group also said that the darker lighting
could create an “atmosphere” of darkness and emotion so it would be the
appropriate lighting.
We then
asked about what camera shots they would like to see within the promo. Every
reply apart from one said that we should use close ups within the promo to show
emotion as well as close ups on the instruments in the performance parts. The
one that did not say to use close ups, put we could use over the shoulder shots
instead, this could be used to show the relationship of the boy and girl in the
narrative before the female found out about the cheating, such as in a
restaurant talking. Two of the replies said we should also use mid shots, I
agree with this as we can easily show the band members and narrative through
them, most of the others said to use long shots so they could see the band, I
also like this idea in the performance parts so it would be a very good one to
use.
The final
question we asked was which demographic they think the promo would appeal to.
Every one of the 6 replies said that it would appeal to teenagers, 4 of which
specified females. This shows that we have chosen a correct idea for our target
group as well as song for them, this means we have chosen well. One reply said
that we it also relates to broken hearted people, which the song does so we
could emphasize this fact.
This is a quick mock up of how the website will look. It is a very conventional website for a band as it has all the basics on it that the band have, e.g. information and merch as well as having a conventional layout and image placement.
This is the Digipak of You Me At Six-Sinners Never Sleep.
You Me Six are a pop-rock/punk band. As we can see, the digipak is in black and
white and no other colour at all, even though this makes it rather dull, it is
rather effective as we can easily see all the different line and contours of
the shapes and letters. This is an effective digipak as it appeals to its
audience as the image is clear. Also, it obeys the conventions of a digipak as
it is Six panels, The inside consists of pictures of the band, holding plaques
that say their names on them, this makes it an effective way to introduce the
band as well as showing everything about them. However, there is a distinct lack
of band information as well as lacking other similar things. However, the conventions
of, Front cover, track list and pictures are still there. This digipak
represents the band as pop-rock/punk because of the dull colours used as well
as the pictures of the band and their costume fitting in with the genre as well
as appealing to the audience, which is teens and young adults due to the fact
that the audience will possibly wear similar clothing. This represents the band
as younger and new, as the genre is about.
The meaning of this digipak is to show a rebellious side of
music, such as represented by the front cover which is a board that is often
held by criminals when they went to prison for their mug shots, this shows it
as somewhat against popular culture as well as against certain aspects of
society.
the target audience for our music promo is teens and young adults ages 16+. We have aimed our promo at this age group as they are the most common age that listen to the Pop Punk genre. This means this is the age group that we should be targeting. Also, the theme of our narrative, is about relationships and a break up as well as mental confusion that comes with that. This will relate to our audience as the chances are, they may have been through something similar. This means that the audience may connect with the narrative more and create a link between them.
Another way we will target the teen-young adult audience is through the use of mise-en-scene by the costume, we will use normal teenagers clothing for the band members and characters that the audience would normally wear, once again, linking them together.
A third way we will target our audience is with the actors we will use. They will be in their late teens which many pop punk bands are, this will also help them epathise with the narrative as well as make the product conventional.
We asked a few questions in our vox pops. The first one asked which was the persons favourite music promo. This not only gave us ideas on which music people in our target audience listened to, but also the genre of music they like. Most out our audience said pop music promos such as gangnam style and baby. This allowed us to acknowledge that audience listened to pop music. However, two of the people we interviewed said that they like more rock based promos, this also showed us that our audience do not just listen to one type of music.
We also asked why they liked the promo they said a varying amount of reasons from one having "a hot girl in it", which relates to the idea of male gaze and watching music promos with females in it, to reminding you of real life. This tells us that people like music videos for different reasons. This helped us decide on our themes in our music promo as they wanted a real life event as well as characters who they could relate to in real life.
The final question we asked was where they watch them and we received a few answers. All of the people said either phone, laptop or phone. This tells us that they use more modern, internet connected devices than standard, non internet devices such as TV as more said they use a phone than TV. They also answered that they usually watch the promo on youtube. This once again, supports the idea of modern technology but also, they watched them on the music channels on TV which also tells us they are into TV as well.
Genre is a
denomination that something falls into in its field judged on its content and
form as well as what its conventions fall into as well.
Pop Punk is
a musical genre which contains pop rock and standard pop music to a varying
degree, it originates in many different countries from the 1970s. However, some
bands have included elements from more hardcore punk genres and included it in
their music. This makes for varying sounds that can change by band or even by
each individual songs as it is a constantly changing genre.
The lyrical
themes do not particularly fit to one subject, but a lot of songs are based
around modern occurrences and love. However, saying this, some bands also
include psychological themes in their music
such as confusion and interesting subjects about decision.
The sound
of pop punk once again, varies by the band. The vocals are either done by male
or female or the occasional mix of both. The genre also has conventions of “poppy”
vocals and choruses. However, some bands such as Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! Come
under pop punk but include screaming in their music from hardcore punk and
metal. The instruments usually consist of 1 or 2 guitars, lead and rhythm if 2
are used but otherwise just lead, drums and a bass guitar. The tuning of the
guitar is often, if not always, up tuned to provide a lighter feel to the
music.
This is All
Time Low, a pop punk band from Baltimore, Maryland, USA. As we can see, they
wear “normal” clothes that we would see in the streets everyday on people of
their age, this allows them to be recognised and familiarised with the audience.
So this represents them as normal people that we can all relate to, the bands
in the genre are also mainly down-to-earth people who are usually normal and
not considered bad people by the press.
This band is
Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! Who come from Paris, they emerged from more of the
punk side of pop punk but are still represented in the same way that All Time
Low are, normal and down to earth, this is once shown again by their clothing.
The ideology
to artists in this genre are friendships, relationships and life in general as
often related to in their music, Many bands also write a song about their
origins and where they come from to get the audience to know a little more about
them as well as showing their love for their families and homes.
The target
audience for pop punk is teenagers, male and female. This is because the poppy
themes and songs are not hard on the ear for standard pop fans but also not too
light for rock fans as well as the themes of the songs relating to the audience
and teenage themes. Their target audience is of varying demographics as they do
not particularly aim at one in particular. The class they would be seen to look
at is middle and working as it is not a “posh” style of music.
We Are The
In Crowd- Rumour Mill
This is a
conventional shot from the pop punk genre of music promos as it is a long shot
of the band, this is very common in this genre as more or less every band who
create a pop punk promo use long shots of themselves. The camera is also
constantly moving which gives us a feeling of pace and speed to the music
whilst also making it feel more fun and energetic, like the music itself, as
well as being up beat and lifting. The camera usually alternates between long
and mid shots of the band and keeps up with the pace of the music and
alternates to different instruments when they are the dominant one in use.
Long shot
of the band
The editing
of this music video is also very fast paced, especially when the song kicks
into a faster beat and during the opening. This, similar to the camera
movement, increases the speed if the music promo. The transitions used are
standard straight cuts, This is because it is a fast, simple transition with
multiple uses and keeps up with the music. However, focus pull edits are used
in the promo to change the main focus of the shot to different parts.
From this
shot, the editing cuts into 3 more very, very quickly.
The
mise-en-scene of the promo is one that the target audience of teenagers can relate
to as the setting is a standard town and many of the audience will live in one.
The costume of the band members are also very stereotypical of the age group as
well as the target audience, this will help with the band appearing normal to
the audience as they do not wear upper class clothing.
Here, we
can see the singer/ guitarist is wearing jeans and a t-shirt, this is very stereotypical
of the target audience and age group.
A tracking
shot of one of the members in the narrative showing a normal, town set,
mise-en-scene.
There is a
joint narrative and performance in this promo, both of which, use members of the
band. Some of the images set in the narrative are also rather humorous so
provide entertainment. However, performance nor narrative is taken over the
other, leading to a very split narrative and performance, they also do not
relate to each other or come together.
This is a CD digipack layout, they usualy have different things on them such as pictures of the band, lyrics, track listings and other information. A digipack is a 6 paneled CD case usualy reserved for special editions or limited releases. The spine will have teh bands name and the album name on it.
Six panels-Front,back, inside x4 (one in side will have a jewl case on)
2 outside panels fold inwards for a greetings card effect.
CD/DVD in a pocket or plastic jewel case
This moodboard portrays different elements in the lyrics that we could relate to our music promo, for example, the song is about confusion in relationships and also running away from your past and looking back on yourself. I have also included direct references to the lyrics with the high heeled shoes and mirror.
Genre is a
denomination that something falls into in its field judged on its content and
form as well as what its conventions fall into as well.
Post-hardcore
music originated in the hardcore punk movement and is seen as a hybrid genre of
hardcore punk as well as having links to metal music within its fast tempos,
guitar riffs and musical styles. Also, similar to punk, it is also one of the
“do it yourself” genres where you do not need to be particularly talented to
take part in music creation within the genre. Its origins started in 1980s USA
when the punk movement started to decrease a little as it was becoming boring
so bands started experimenting with different sounds and forms.
Post-harcore
music has a variety of lyical formats that can range from a story being told by
the band, to lyrics that relate to our everyday lives. However, Post-hardcore
often also has lyical themes in crime and love too, mainly murder and lust.
The general
music style of post-hardcore is a combination of different punk denominations
and metal combinations. The vocals often include harsh screaming and growls,
similar to extreme metal and hardcore punk, as well as clean, usually poppy
vocals. This combination can either be done by one vocalist but is usually more.
The singers also sometimes have a tenor (higher pitch) or countertenor (a
technique that uses high notes but can also descend into deep notes and
growls). There are also usually two guitarists, rhythm and lead, which usually
have crushing and heavy riffs in it to faster, lighter ones. A bass guitar and
drums are also implemented. Sometimes, a keyboard is also implemented to create
a more electronic sound.
This is
Alesana, a post-hardcore band that implement everything within the genre
requirements apart from a keyboard, however, a piano is sometimes used. As we
can see, post-hardcore bands are often known for having longer hair as well as
tattoos and being associated with darkness as their music is seen on the
“darker” side. However, this represents the bands in the genre as being emo,
however, most bands often say they are not and in fact, dislike the term and
being associated with it.
This is
another post-hardcore band called Eyes Set To Kill, they are usually seen as
non-conventional as they use female vocals as the main part of the music and
male backing screams as additions, however, we can also see they are still
associated with black and tattoos so we can see, even non-conventional
post-hardcore bands are represented the same.
The
ideology of being a post-hardcore artist is usually based around alternatives
to what you are represented as.Due to
the black clothing and style, they are often associated with death and emos as
said above, however, they sometimes base their music on love and life as well
as what’s right and wrong which would be seen as subverting the aesthetic
representation of post-hardcore. This is very important to many bands and some
are even religious and implement some religious lessons into their music.
The target
audience of Post-hardcore is teenagers and young adults as the music often
include profanity and the occasional adult theme. The target audience is often
also the middle and lower class as it is not seen as a “posh” or “normal” genre
to listen to as it is a combination of many genres into one. This means that
the audience is often socially awkward or very unique individuals.
A Skylit Drive- Crazy
In the A
Skylit Drive-Crazy music promo, the cinematography is conventional of most
music promos. For example, in most promos, there are very few stationary shots
and the camera pans many times and almost has constant movement. It is also the
same within this promo as there are barely any stationary shots. Also, in most
post-harcore music promos, they amplify the use of close ups on the singer and
instruments being played, especially the guitars. The same applies to this
music video as most of the shots are close ups so it is very conventional in
that case. However, there are many more close ups of the singer than what there
is of the guitarists so that is somewhat unconventional.
An example
of the post production effects.
The editing
in this promo is very, very fast and is a lot faster than many other promos,
however, this is staple of the genre as it is a lot faster than less aggressive
genres. Also, a few post production effects have been used within it to
slightly enhance the speed of t which is used effectively. Most of the edits
used are straight cuts with a few being fades which are also barely used within
the genre, this is rather unconventional but works very well. A few cross cuts
are also included within the promo but very quickly which intersect performance
and narrative, this seems to make them happen together. The
mise-en-scene of the promo is also rather conventional as post-hardcore videos
usually use a setting that the audience is familiar with, as it does here. The
setting is a city and it also emphasis this within in it as it shows the use of
buildings and urban materials as some of the characters within the narrative
part use it as a way to travel around. The costume of the band is rather
conventional but unconventional at the same time. It is conventional because it
is made up of mainly black clothing, however, it suits the punk genre more, but
you could say this is because post-hardcore is a relative of punk.
A chain link
fence, a common item in an urban environment.
Here we can
see how the costume suits post-hardcore and punk as the clothing is
post-hardcore related but the singers’ hair is more of a punk style.
In this
promo, there is a mix of narrative and performance but majors as performance as
there is more of the band in the promo than what there is the narrative.
However, this is because, eventually 1:54, they both come together. This is
unconventional as most music promos in this genre or similar have them
completely split, however, it works well here as it makes the video more
colourful as the characters start using coloured powder to add variety as well
as the performance still continuing. The use of this coloured powder also
subverts some of the conventions as post-hardcore is seen as a “darker” genre
of music and is often portrayed as such. However, then the colours slowly turn
into smoke which start to show the band in the white of the smoke and turns it
into a slightly more exiting performance as well as showing a crowd dancing and
the camera being within the crowd so it feels as if you are there.
The
performance and narrative together with the unconventional colour.
There are
many interesting music promos out there from which we can draw inspiration to
create our own. One example of this is the Fat Boy Slim Promo for Praise You.
This is a promo that subverts conventions of most music promos at the time. The
whole promo is just of a dance group who are not that good, dancing in front of
a cinema. This subverts conventions as it does not have a performance or even a
narrative to It. It also subverts the editing conventions as there is very few
different shots in it as well as not a lot of editing. This once again subverts
the conventions as most promos have a lot of shots and fast editing. We could
use this in our promo as subverting conventions could make it interesting.
The
mise-en-scene and performance that subvert conventions
Another
inspirational music video is Peter Gabriel’s-Sledgehammer promo. This is a very
abstract promo as it parodies and copies works of art as well as having a
mise-en-scene that is surreal. This leads to an interesting promo as it is out
of the normal, however, where this is an inspirational aspect, it would be hard
to do as well as possibly being seen as strange and not attractive.
An example
of the abstract mise-en-scene.
A music
promo that particularly inspires me is All Time Low’s promo for Time-Bomb. This
is a very conventional music video in the senses of editing and style, because
it is a performance and narrative promo, however, the narrative and performance
have a cross over nearer the end as well as it using modern elements such as the
mise-en-scene and props used within it. The song is also a similar genre to the
song we have chosen. I feel it is inspirational because it has many elements
and conventions we could use in our own promo.
The
cross-over of performance and narrative
Another
music promo I find inspirational DragonForce-The Game. This promo is heavy in
performance with a little narrative in there. This could be a major element of
our promo. Also, I find the camera work and cinematography within this promo
also very inspirational. This is because it uses many different angles and
movements around the band members which make it interesting and enjoyable to
watch. This is inspirational as we could use something similar.
An example
of a shot of the tow guitarists and a good example of an instrument close up.
Another
music video I find inspirational is Dead by April- As A Butterfly. I find this
an inspirational video because of the mise-en-scene used as it is effective as
it is abandoned and lonesome as well as the costume being normal and similar to
members of the target audience. This is inspirational because it creates an
interesting atmosphere with the setting as well as linking to the audience with
the costume. Also, this promo uses a lot of long and close ups to show the band
and instruments, this is another thing we could use in our promo.
An example
of the mise-en-scene and long shots used.
